Wheel holding chuck for wheelstraightening machines



Feb. 6, 1951 WHEEL HOLDING CHUCK FOR WHEEL STRAIGHTEN ING MACHINES FiledSept. 15, 1948 C. E. JACKSON Fee. 2

2 Sheets-Sheet l V INVENTOR CARTER E. JACKSON ATTORNEY Feb. 6, 1951 c.E. JACKSON WHEEL HOLDING CHUCK FOR WHEEL STRAIGHTENING MACHINES FiledSept. 13, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR CARTER E. JACKSON ATTORNEYPatented Feb. 6, 1951 WHEEL HOLDING. CHUCK FOR. WHEEL- 'STEALGHTENING. MC

Garter E. Jackson, Evansville, Ind. Application September 13, 194$,vSerial No. 43,066 -1 Claim. (01. 14.4288)v This invention relates ingeneral to certain new and useful improvements in wheel straighteningmachines. a

At the present time, automobile repair shops are frequently called upontherewith to straighten vehicle wheels which have been bent, distorted,

.or otherwise twisted out of true by various types of accidents. In suchwork it is necessary to supply various types of force at varying anglestov the rims and internal areas of the wheel to bend, twist or pressthem back into precise true run circularity. And obviously such forcemust be applied to the inside fi the rim as well as to the outside ofthe rim. In fact, it is just as necessary to straighten the wheel undercertain circumstances as it is to bend it. Actual experience has shownthat the manipulations to which a wheel must be subjected during thestraightening process are almost infinite in variety. At the presenttime the wheel straightening machines which are in use are constructedmore or less like fiat top tables and do not permit a ready access toall the parts of the wheel.

Furthermore, present day type of machines require the use of differentchucks or collars to mount each different make of vehicle wheel with theresult that a garage mechanic must keep in stock a very large number ofdifferent kinds of adaptors and other devices so that any and all typesof vehicle wheels can be mounted in the machine. Because of thedificulty and inefficiency attendant upon use of present, day wheelstraightening machines, an excessive amount of time is required toperform even the simplest type of wheel straightening job with theresult, that the repair shop must either charge the customer a pricewhich seems exorbitant with respect to the value of the article beingrepaired.

or must charge a lower price and suffer loss on the work.

For this reason, as well as for the reason that work is done on presentday wheel straightening machine is not too accuratamany repair shopsrefuse to straighten wheels. and instead require the customer to,purchase brand new wheels 01. takethe work elsewhere.

It is, therefore, the primary object of the present invention to providea new and novel type of wheel straightening machine which is simplein-construction and operation. and is highly universal in itsadaptability to the multiplicity of wheel straightening operations whichordinarily are required to be performed in the daily course of wheelrepairing operations.

It is a further object of the present invention r to provide a wheelstraightening machine mounted upona horizontal axis and which isaccessible from top, bottom, and both sides so that the wheel can bequickly and accurately straightened with a minimum of time and labor.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide asubstantially universal chuck capaole of receiving and supporting a widevariety of diiferent types and sizes of vehicle wheels.

' It-isalso an object of the present invention to provide awheelstraightening machine in which the wheel is rotatably mounted within anencircling framework adapted to support hydraulic jacks and otherstraightening tools at any desired angle or any desired position, ascircumstances-may require.

With the above and other objects in view, my invention resides in thenovel features of form, construction; arrangement, and combination ofparts presentlydescribed and pointed out in the claim. 7

In the accompanying drawings (two sheets) Figure l is a perspective viewof a wheel straightening machine constructed in accordance Views,respectively, of the wheel straightening machine;-

Figures e, 5, and 6 arefragmentary horizontal sectionalviews taken alonglines 44, '55, and t -a respectively, of Figure 1, and

Figure '7 is a fragmentary vertical sectional View; taken along line 'llof Figure 4.

Referring now inmore detail and by reference characters to the drawings,which illustrate a preferred embodiment of my present invention, Adesignates awheel straightening machine comprising two spaced parallelvertical posts I each fastened rigidly to the floor or On thesupportingstructure bymeansoffoot flanges 2 and lag bolts 3. The posts Iare fabricated from two U-sha-ped channel sections t disposed inback-to-baek relation and welded to spacer blocks 5, whereby the webs 6are held in spaceding member 10, substantially identical in everyrespect to the first or upper bridging member 1, being formed ofU-shaped channel members ll held in spaced parallel relation by a spacerblock l2.

It should be noted in this connection that the second or lower bridgingmember ID is reversed with respect to the upper bridging member I so asto provide a substantially symmetrical sixsided framework within which,wheel straightening operations can be performed.

Welded at its lower end to the upper faces of the pair of channels H,and extending upwardly therefrom, in spaced parallel relation to theposts I, is a vertical leg 13 which is, in turn, welded at its upper endto a short horizontal support 14, the latter being welded at its outerend to the posts i. The leg l3 and support member l4 are also formed oftwo sections of U-shaped channels Hi, 1-6, respectively, welded to andheld in spaced parallel relation by, spacer blocks ll,

Welded to, and projectin horizontally from, the overhanging end of thesupport member I4, is a short spindle 19 provided at its outer end witha diametrically reduced portion 2!! which is, in turn, provided,adjacent the outer end, with a diametrical drill hole or bore 2i.Rotatably journaled upon the spindle i9, and internally counter-bored tofit snugly upon both diameters thereof, is a chuck sleeve 22 integrallyincluding a relatively large interior circular flange 23 adapted to beararcuately against the outwardly presented face of a matching flange 24welded upon the outer overhanging end of the support member 14.

outwardly of the flange 23, the chuck sleeve 22 is provided with anexternally threaded intermediate barrel portion 25 which, at its outermargin, tapers inwardly in the provision of a small conical sectionawhich terminates at its outer or smaller end in an externally threadedtail portion 26. Threadedly mounted upon the intermediate barrel portion25 is a back collar 21 provided upon its rear face with two diametrallyjuxtaposed rearwardly projecting handle pins 28 to facilitate tighteningthe collar 21 in place by hand or by the use of conventional tighteningtools. Similarly threaded upon the tail portion 26 is a clamping collar29 similarly provided upon its forward face with two diametrallyjuxtaposed forwardly projecting handle pins 30 to facilitate tighteningthe collar 29 in place by hand or by the use of conventional tighteningtools. For convenience, the clamping collar 29 is of substantiallysmaller diametrical size than the back collar 21. It should also benoted that the collar 29 is internally counterbored, as at 29, to clearthe conical section a of the chuck sleeve 22.

Removably held upon the outer portion 20 of the spindle is by means of ataper pin 3| is a retention collar 32 which bears endwise a ainst thechuck sleeve 22 to hold the latter upon the spindle Hi. It may be notedin this connection that the aperture 2i is so located in reference tothe flange 24 and the length of the chuck sleeve 22 so that the latterwill be held snugly against the flange 24 and still be free to rotateupon the spindle l9. Threadedly mounted in and extending obliquelythrough the flange 24 is a holding screw 33 which is provided at itsforward end with a rounded pipe portion 34 adapted to bear against theinner face of the flange 23. By turning the holding screw forwardly thepipe portion 34 can be brought to bear against the inner face of thechuck flange 23 with greater or lesser degrees of friction as may bedesired so that the chuck sleeve 22 can be held in substantiallystationary or immovable position upon the spindle i9 or can be permittedto rotate upon the spindle [9 with any desired degree of freedom.

Provided for co-operation with the wheel straightening machine are aplurality of hydraulic rams or jacks J provided at their lower ends witha conventional ball socket base 35 for lockable engagement with aprojecting ball end 36 of a mounting screw 3? which extends to fitslidably between the webs 6 of the channels 4 and is provided upon itsouter projecting end with a clamping nut 38. By loosening the clampingnut 38, jacks J can be moved upwardly or downwardly and locked in anyselected position around the framework of the wheel straighteningmachine.

Bolted, welded, or otherwise rigidly secured along its rearward marginto the under flange of the channel l5 of the support member [A is aforwardly extending horizontal table 39 having a width in the forwarddirection substantially greater than the radius of the largest wheel tobe accommodated on the spindle is and extending transversely across themachine A to a point just short of the matching flange 24. Along itsouter transverse margin, the table 39 is integrally provided with anarrow lateral extension portion 40 which projects transversely asubstantial distance beyond the outermost peripheral limits of thewidest wheel adapted to be mounted on the spindle l9. In outwardlydisposed more or less peripheral alignment with the rim face of a wheelmounted on the spindle 19, as shown schematically in dotted lines inFigures 1 and 3, the extension portion 48 of the table 39 is providedwith a depending arcuate recess or rimdie holding fixture GI, all asbest seen in Figures 1 and 4, and for purposes presently more fullyappearing.

The table 39 is finally provided, in any conventional manner, along itsouter horizontal margin with two depending legs 42, 43, adapted to reachdown and rest upon the floor or other supporting structure and therebyhold the table 3Q firmly and immovably in horizontal position.

In use and operation, the back collar 2! is threaded rearwardly towardthe flange 23 and the clamping collar 29 is entirely removed from thechuck sleeve 22. The wheel which is to be straightened is slid over thetail portion 2'6 and centered upon the conical portion a of the chucksleeve 22, whereupon, the back collar 27 is threaded up again until itbears snugly against the back face of the wheel W. Care must be observednot to displace the centering engagement between the conical portion aof the chuck sleeve 22 and the wheel W. Thereupon, the clamping collaris threaded onto the tail portion 26 until it bears tightly against theforwardly presented face of the wheel W. Finally, while the back collar21 is held stationary by suitable spanner wrenches, the clamping collar29 is turned tightly down so that the wheel will be held firmly andsecurely in centered position upon the chuck sleeve 22.

g When the wheel is thus mounted in the wheel straightening machine, itmay be spun or rotated so that the various imperfections out-of-trueportions will be revealed to the mechanic, and the jacks J may beappropriately positioned around the framework so that straighteningpressure can be imposed upon those portions which must be bent ordeflected to restore the wheel to its proper condition of singularityand balance.

Because present-day wheels are manufactured in a variety of unique crosssectional shapes, it

has been found desirable to provide, in connection with the presentwheel straightening machine A, a plurality of sets of die blocks such asthose shown in Figures 4 and 7. Each set of die blocks comprises afemale block 44 contoured to fit the inside rim portion of the Wheel Wand conform lengthwise to a short arcuate segment of the peripherythereof. Also provided are two complementary shaped male blocks 45, 45,adapted to conform to the external portion of the rim along the samearcuate segment. On their faces, the blocks 45, 45', are provided withprojecting pins 45 for loose-fitting disposition within thestationary'jaw portion 4'! of a conventional C-clamp fitting 48, adaptedto be operably mounted on the end of a hydraulic ram or jack 49. TheC-clamp is of such size as to fit around the wheel, and both the femaleblock 44 and the male block 45 or 45', whichever is being used in themanner shown alternatively in full and dotted lines in Figure 7. A setof such die blocks will be provided for each standard or different typeof automobile rim and may be used plete and satisfactory re-shaping ofthe rim structure.

Inasmuch as the female block member 44 must necessarily be comparativelyheavy and cumbersome, the rim re-forming operations in the wheelstraightening machine A of the present invention are much more accurate,convenient, and speedy, and are less tiring upon the mechanic thancomparable wheel straightening operations which have been heretoforeperformed. Since the table 39 supports theweight of the jack 49 and thefemale block 44, and holds them in a convenient and accessible positionto the work at all times during the rim re-forming operations, it ispossible to release and re-apply rim re-forming pressure at variousplaces around the periphery of the wheel without an undue amount ofbackbreaking effort or lost set-up time, and the accuracy with whichthis type of operation can be performed is greatly increased overmethods heretofore available. If necessary, the entire rim can bepressed back into shape, if it has been distorted, by working around theentire rear periphery thereof in successive sections.

It should be understood that changes and modifications in the form,construction, arrangement, and combination of the several parts of thewheel straightening machine may be made shown in Figure 4, in whichposition it is in more or less disengaged alignment with the rim. TheC-clamp fitting 48 and its associated hydraulic jack 49 are placed uponthe table 39 in loosefitting disposition around the wheel rim and femaleblock 44. Either one or both of the matching male blocks 45, 45", arethen manually held in place on the inside face of the rim substantiallyas shown in Figure 7, and the hydraulic jack 49 energized to squeeze thedie blocks together imposing re-forming pressure upon the engagedportions of the wheel rim. After this application of pressure for alength of time, and

to a degree, which seem to the mechanic suitable for the particular typeof deformation being dealt with, the pressure within the hydraulic jack49 is released and the male die blocks 45, 45', are manually placed backupon the table 39 momentarily. The female block 44 falls back to rest 1and substituted for those herein shown and. de-

sleeve rotatably mounted on said spindle, said sleeve being provided atone end with a relatively enlarged externally threaded portion and atits other end with a relatively small externally threaded portion andbeing provided with a uniformly tapered portion intermediate saidexternally threaded portions for concentrically receiving the hubopenings of wheels of various sizes, a relatively large collarthreadedly mounted upon the enlarged portion of the sleeve and having anoutwardly presented face truly perpendicular to the axis of the spindlefor abutment against the wheel, and a clamping collar threadedly mountedupon the smaller externally threaded end portion for forcing the wheelback against the first named collar and clamping it in such position.

CARTER E. JACKSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,443,075 Guilford Jan. 23, 19231,606,489 Winter Nov. 9, 1926 1,650,216 Ingham Nov. 22, 1927 1,809,169Kennedy June 9, 1931 1,989,087 Eibert Jan. 29, 1935 2,334,606 CastigliaNov. 16, 1943

